“Oh…well…”
Dylan looked at his watch and then back at her. “I think everyone’s planning on meeting around eleven and if all goes as planned, you should be on the road by two. That’s not too terribly late, right?”
It meant she wasn’t going to get as far as she wanted on her first day of driving but…it was to help a friend. And after all the ways Hailey had befriended her, how could she possibly bail on her? “You’re right,” she agreed. “And maybe we can grab some lunch together before I go.”
He gave her a doubtful look. “I’m on kissing booth duty from one to three, but I’m sure I could step out for a few minutes so we can say goodbye.”
Nothing. Not even a hint of remorse in his tone! “Well, I wouldn’t want to pull you away from your adoring public.” There was humor in her voice that she totally didn’t feel. “We could say our goodbyes before I go to meet up with Hailey.”
And in a move she never saw coming, he leaned forward and picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. “Or…we could spend the next couple of hours forgetting about saying goodbye.”
Chloe couldn’t help but giggle.
And for a little while, she let herself forget that her heart was breaking.
****
“So…wait. I have to take down the decorations…why?”
“Hales,” Dylan whispered into the phone. “You said you’d help out.”
“Yeah, I know I did, but I didn’t think you meant by dismantling a room I spent all morning setting up! That’s just crazy! Why can’t I find her something else to do?” Hailey asked.
“Do you have something else for her to do?”
Silence.
“Hailey?”
“No.”
“Great,” he murmured. “Just great. Now what am I supposed to do?”
“Okay, okay, okay…just…stall her for an hour. Then send her my way. I’ll think of something.”
“You’re the best, Hales. Seriously. Next tune-up and oil change is on me.”
“My next new car should be on you,” she grumbled. “It’s a good thing you’re so damn sweet or I’d be tempted to kick your ass.”
“You’re a scary woman, Hailey.”
“And don’t you forget it.” And then she hung up.
Dylan switched his phone off and stepped back into the bedroom with the glasses of juice he told Chloe he was going to get. She was sprawled out across his bed, her eyes closed and so damn beautiful he could only stop and stare.
“Did you squeeze the oranges yourself?” she teased.
Chuckling, he put her glass down on the bedside table. “Sorry. I got a text from Hailey reminding me of my shift at the booth. I’ll be taking over for someone who has to leave on time and she wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to be late.”
Chloe opened one eye and looked at him. “Why is she so involved with all of this? I thought there was a whole committee? Seems to me like she’s got her hand in everything.”
He shrugged. “I think it’s left over from her days as mayor. Plus…she’s a control freak.”
Nodding, Chloe sat up and reached for her juice and took a long drink. When she put the glass down, she looked at Dylan and blushed. “Thanks. I was really thirsty.”
He loved that blush. “Well…that was rather…acrobatic. I know I downed a glass before coming back in here.”
“So that’s what took you so long…”
Rather than answer, he nodded and drank his juice.
Dylan watched as Chloe stretched – the sheet dropping to her waist and baring her breasts – and he almost climbed back in the bed with her. He was just about to reach for the button on his jeans when she kicked the blankets off and rose from the bed.
Spectacular.
Before he could form a simple word, she was picking up her clothes and putting them back on. That was a damn shame.
Shaking his head to clear it, he turned and went in search of his own shirt and finished getting dressed again. When he turned around, Chloe was fully dressed and re-making the bed. “You don’t have to do that.”
She shrugged. “I know. But I made it earlier and you know I hate leaving an unmade bed behind. Now I can relax.”
Laughing, he walked around the bed to her and hugged her. “Yeah. I do know that about you. And as much as I want to say it’s weird, I can’t because I feel the exact same way.”
“You’re the first guy I’ve ever met who feels like that,” she said softly, her arms around his waist, holding him just as tightly as he was holding her.
The alarm sounded on his phone and he silently cursed it. Slowly, he disentangled himself from her and took a step back. And hated the sad look on her face as he did it.
“So…yeah,” he said, raking a hand through his hair. “That was my reminder to go and meet Will.”
She looked at him curiously. “Will? I didn’t know you had to meet him today.”
“Yeah, he’s got an old car he’s been working on and he wants to tow it to the shop to get it up on the lift and work on it after hours. I told him I’d help him before heading into town.”
And now she looked even sadder. “Oh.”
Reaching out, Dylan cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly before stepping away again. “It’s all good. I’ll go meet Will, you’ll go meet Hailey and then you’ll come and see me before you get on the road. Right?”
Her eyes shone brightly with unshed tears and Dylan’s heart actually ached. She didn’t say a word, just nodded.
He had to leave before he made a complete fool out of himself. Turning, he strode from the room. “Tell Hailey I said hey!”
And he was out the door without waiting for her response.
****
“What in the world happened?”
Hailey walked toward Chloe looking frazzled and completely not like herself. “Oh…um…some people showed up early to help and took matters into their own hands with the decorations but they were completely wrong. So…um…I had to undo some things and fix them.”
“There was a wrong way to decorate?” Chloe asked, confused.
Phoebe walked by with an armload of streamers. “It would seem so.”
Hailey frowned after her before returning her attention to Chloe. “So…yeah…fixing the decorations. How are you with balloons?”
“Do we have a helium tank?”
“Naturally,” Hailey said with a smile, looking relieved.
“Then I’m good!”
“Perfect! Oh, I’m so relieved.”
“Wouldn’t it be more helpful if I was doing something…bigger? I mean, this place is kind of a mess right now.” She looked around the room and almost shuddered. “It almost looks like decorations were ripped from the walls.”
A nervous laugh was Hailey’s first response. “That’s crazy! No. No, no, no…nothing like that. But the balloons would be a big help! Trust me! Phoebe and I can handle the rest. We’ve done this enough times and I think we’ve got a few more people showing up to help.” Taking Chloe by the shoulders, she spun her around and gently pushed her in the direction of the storage room.
The room was crowded with extra tables and chairs and the helium tank was in the corner. “How many balloons do you need?”
“About three hundred,” Hailey said before turning to leave.
“Three hundred! Seriously?”
“Uh…yeah. We suspend them from the ceiling in a big net and then let them drop at the end of the night. It’s very…festive! People love it!” she gushed and then she was gone.
Sighing, Chloe spotted the bags of balloons and did her best to try and feel some enthusiasm for her task. Even with the tank it was going to take at least two hours to get this done and it was going to be a monotonous two hours at that!
“Then I’d best get started,” she murmured and opened the first bag.
Two hours and twenty minutes later, she was done. The balloons were inflated and placed in several large bags for transporting and if she nev
er saw another one as long as she lived, it would be too soon! Picking up her purse, Chloe stepped out of the storage room and stopped short. The room had been transformed. People were scurrying around and everything looked amazing.
“Wow!” she said when she spotted Hailey. “This looks beautiful! You work fast!”
Hailey looked pleased at the compliment. “We’ve done this so many times before we can almost do it blindfolded.”
“That’s awesome. Really. I didn’t think it was possible to see it all done before I left.”
Looking at her watch, Hailey nodded approvingly. When she returned her attention to Chloe, she was still looking pleased. “So…you’re all packed and ready?”
“Yup,” she sighed.
“Where are you parked?”
That was an odd question, Chloe thought. “Um…over by the grocery store. Dylan suggested it so I wouldn’t get stuck in festival traffic. Hopefully I’ll be able to cut across by the post office and then over Teal Street to get to the highway.”
Hailey shook her head. “No, no, no…you’ll end up sitting in traffic forever that way. If you go around the back way and go up to Fuchsia and make a left, you’ll meet up with the entrance to the highway about five miles down. No traffic that way.”
“Oh. Thanks! I appreciate it.”
“No need in frustrating yourself trying to get out of town. You’re going to be stuck driving for days as it is.”
“Yeah,” Chloe agreed. “Definitely not fun.”
Instead of replying, Hailey grabbed her and hugged her. “Thanks for all your help and have a safe trip!”
“Thanks,” she replied, feeling herself getting a little emotional. She was just about to tell Hailey how much she appreciated all of their talks and girl time, but in the blink of an eye, Hailey was off and yelling instructions to some teenagers who’d come to help out. “Um…bye,” she murmured.
“Hey!” Phoebe. “You all set?”
“I think so.”
“That’s great. And thanks for taking care of the balloons. Big help…seriously.”
“No problem. Glad I could be here to help out.”
“Well…have a safe trip! And make sure you don’t drive too long and always stop when you get tired.”
Chloe smiled. “I will.”
“And be warned, traffic getting out of here will be crazy. Which way are you heading out?”
She repeated her original path to Phoebe and almost chuckled when she began shaking her head no.
“You’ll sit in front of the post office all day. What you need to do is go up behind Dottie’s to Fuchsia and head west. You’ll eventually hit the entrance to the highway. It’s all farm roads back there. Very scenic.”
“Hailey recommended the same thing so I’m guessing that’s the way to go.”
Grabbing her in for a hug, Phoebe wished her a safe trip again and was gone.
Guess they’re not big on goodbyes here, she thought to herself as she walked out the door. She was met with bright sunshine – the perfect day. Blue skies, perfect temperatures…the kind of day that made you want to be outside enjoying it.
Another weary sigh escaped as she began to make her way across the town square toward the kissing booth. The line seemed to be two blocks long! Her first reaction was to go and tell all these women to go away, to find someone else to kiss because Dylan was hers. But she couldn’t. This was his town and it was something he did every year at the festival and she had no right to ask him to change that.
Along the way she must have had about twenty people stop to wish her luck and give her helpful hints about getting out of town! Everyone from Pastor Michaels to Margie Ferguson, the church organist, put their two cents in regarding the quickest way out of town. If she were a suspicious person, she’d say they couldn’t wait to get rid of her!
“Stop being crazy,” she murmured and contemplated getting in line to kiss Dylan. It was after one and she knew he still had to put in his full time there – as much as she hated it – but stepping up to the front to get his attention seemed rude. So she took her spot in line and was surprised at how fast it was moving.
Looking ahead, she noticed something – it wasn’t Dylan in the booth. Neither of the guys in the booth were Dylan. What the…?
Stepping out of the line, Chloe walked up to the front and simply waved off the complaints and numerous shouts of “hey!” When she was standing in front of Will, she wanted to smack the smile off of his face.
“Hey, Chloe!” he said smoothly. “What do you say? A kiss for the road?” He waggled his eyebrows at her playfully and she almost forgot to be annoyed.
“Where’s Dylan?”
“Oh, we got a call about a car needing to be towed so he went to do it.”
Her eyes went wide. “No!”
He nodded. “Yup.” Nodding, winked at the girl behind Chloe. “He said he was going to text you.”
“Text?” she repeated stupidly and then went to fish her phone out of her purse. Sure enough, she’d missed it. “Dammit.”
“You’re holding up the line!” someone shouted. “If you’re not going to kiss him, the rest of us will!”
“I hate to be rude,” Will said, grinning. “But my public awaits.”
“What?” she asked distractedly. “Sorry.”
Will leaned across the counter of the booth and quickly kissed Chloe on the cheek. “That one’s on the house,” he said. “Have a safe trip, Chloe. And thanks for getting the front office so organized. Hopefully whoever Dylan hires will keep it up.”
She wasn’t going to cry, dammit. “Thanks, Will,” she said and leaned in to hug him. “For everything.”
When she pulled back, she couldn’t help but wipe away a few tears. This was it. She was leaving and she wasn’t going to get to say goodbye to Dylan one last time.
“Go,” Will said. “You’ll want to hit the eighty-one before all the weekend traffic starts up. You’re going the back way, right?”
She almost rolled her eyes. “Yes. That’s the general consensus around here.” With a small wave, she stepped aside and took one last look around the town square. Life was going on all around her. People were laughing and smiling and having a good time. Off in the distance she heard people screaming in the haunted house and the smell of all kinds of food filled the air.
This was a good place.
And even if she never made it back to Sapphire Falls, she’d never forget it.
With nothing left to do, she walked the rest of the way across the square, crossed the street, and made her way to the grocery store parking lot. It wasn’t until she was in her car that she read Dylan’s text.
Dylan: Hey! I’m sorry I missed you, but maybe it’s better this way. I don’t think I could handle saying goodbye again. Be happy, Chloe. I hope you find what you need out west and maybe someday, you’ll come back to Sapphire Falls. To me. Call me tonight when you get to your hotel so I know you’re safe.
I love you.
And then she cried.
A full-blown ugly cry.
And it took several long minutes before she could even see clearly enough to begin to drive. As much as she wanted to see Dylan one more time, she knew if she did she would cave. She would stay. She’d beg him if she had to – for his forgiveness, for him to tell her he loved her to her face and to let her stay.
With him.
It was hard to remember why it was that she was leaving, why she didn’t want to stay. And even though he’d only said it in a text, those three little words grabbed her heart and squeezed until she almost couldn’t breathe.
Why did he have to take a tow call? Why today when they only had this last time to say goodbye?
Chloe looked around the parking lot as if expecting him to magically appear. But that wasn’t going to happen and all she could do was wipe away the tears – along with the rest of her mascara – an
d put the car in drive, make the left onto Fuchsia, and count down the miles until she hit Highway 81.
Ten
There was nothing on the road. Going the posted speed limit of thirty-five gave Chloe plenty of time to look at the farmland. And not much else. The road had some bends and curves but other than the scenery, there wasn’t a thing on it. She’d passed all the houses and there wasn’t another car in sight.
“Two miles in and I’m already bored,” she murmured. Deciding that maybe a little music would help, she was just about to turn on the radio when something up ahead caught her eye.
A truck.
Not that it was so unusual, except it was stopped in the middle of the road with its hood up. Was this possibly the tow call Dylan was on? Could her luck be that good that she was going to get to see him after all?
As she pulled closer, her smile grew. This wasn’t just any truck stuck in the road. It was Dylan’s truck stuck in the road. Slowly, she pulled over and walked around to the front of the truck and almost let out a laugh. Dylan was bent over the hood and he had the finest ass she had ever seen in a pair of faded blue jeans.
She loved him in blue jeans.
“Um…excuse me?” she called out.
He didn’t move.
“Sir? Are you all right?” she asked. “Sir?”
“Could you quit calling me that?” he said as he turned around and straightened.
She fought the urge to throw herself into his arms. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Can you quit calling me sir? I’m not that old, for crying out loud.”
A bark of laughter came out before she could stop it. The look of indignation on his face kept her laughing a little bit longer before she forced herself to stop.
“Are you done?” he asked.
Chloe did her best to stifle the giggle that was itching to come out. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed like that but you kind of caught me off guard.” He crossed his arms over his chest and simply stared at her, and Chloe knew he was struggling to keep a straight face. “So…um…what’s the problem with the truck?”
Shrugging, he looked over his shoulder at it. “No idea. It sort of sputtered a bit and made some clanking sound, so I pulled over.”
Sapphire Falls: Going My Way? (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 10